Caught in the Act
by Gemini11
Summary: Phoebe has a mission to find a way into the attic to see what Penny is hiding from them.


bPhoebe's Mission /b  
  
Ten-year-old Phoebe Halliwell was sitting at the top of the steps leading to the attic. This was one of her favorite places to play. She set her doll on a flat box, sat down behind her, and pushed off the top step. She giggled as she rode the box to the bottom of the stairs, her bumpy ride ending with a thump as she toppled over the doll hitting level ground. Laughing, she grabbed her doll under one arm, knowing she was too old for it, and grabbed the box, heading to the top of the stairs to begin the exciting decent again. Just as she was sitting herself on the box she heard a throat clearing and looked up. Penny was coming out of the attic.  
  
"And just what are you doing?" Penny asked.  
  
Phoebe stuck the doll behind her back and smiled up at her grams. "Sliding." She answered.  
  
"I've told you not to do this." Penny sighed, pulling Phoebe to her feet. "It could be dangerous. You could fall down the stairs and hit your head, and no one would even know it."  
  
"I'm not afraid!" Phoebe exclaimed, letting her doll hang at her side.  
  
"Oh, sweetie, you have to let go of that old doll. You're too old for it." Penny said gently.  
  
"I don't care!" Phoebe stomped her foot. "Mom gave me this doll when I was a baby! Prue told me so. I'm not giving it up." Phoebe snatched up her box and started down the stairs, but she stopped halfway and spun around. "What were you in the attic for?"  
  
"Oh, nothing. Just looking for something I've stored." Penny said, starting down the stairs towards her granddaughter.  
  
"Why aren't we allowed in?" Phoebe asked, walking back up the steps closer to the door. "How come you get to go in and we don't?"  
  
"Because, I've told you, the floor isn't safe; you could just fall through anywhere. This is a very old house, and I don't want you getting hurt." Penny ushered Phoebe down the stairs and into her room. "Dinner will be in about an hour when your sisters get home."  
  
Phoebe sighed from her doorway as she watched her grandmother walk down the hall. Phoebe flung the box onto the floor in the center of her room. She ran to her bed and sat the doll down on the pillow, its back propped up against the headboard. Then she crawled across the bed and gave the picture frame sitting on the nightstand a kiss. She had made her decision; she was determined to see what was ireally/i in the attic. She crawled off the bed and headed for the stairs leading to the attic, seen by no one except the picture of her mother, sitting on the nightstand.  
  
So, brave young child that she was, Phoebe gripped the attic's doorknob and gave it a mighty turn. It was locked. She knew it would be. She pulled her hair pins out and bent over the doorknob. i Insert this hairpin, insert that hairpin, twist…/i  
  
"Phoebe, what do you think you're doing, young lady?" Penny growled.  
  
Phoebe quickly dropped her hands, hiding the pins in her pockets. "Just trying to get a peek." She answered.  
  
"Well, your sisters are home, and they brought pizza." Penny told her. "Please come downstairs."  
  
Phoebe sighed, glanced at the attic door, and turned to follow Penny downstairs. i One day I'll find out what she's hiding./i  
  
Phoebe followed Penny into the sitting room, where they had the television. Prue and Piper were sitting on the floor watching a show, eating the pizza from the box. Phoebe looked up at Penny.  
  
"We're eating in here? Without plates? Or napkins?" Phoebe asked, astonished, since Penny never let them eat anything anywhere but in the kitchen or dining room, and least of all greasy food straight from a box.  
  
"Yes, we are. Have a seat by your sisters." Penny motioned towards the floor, and Phoebe plopped down next to Piper.  
  
She glanced at Piper and Prue before grabbing a slice of pizza. Penny beat her to it. Penny reached over her shoulder and grabbed a slice. Phoebe was nearly in shock. She would've been so yelled at if she had been eating pizza on the couch.  
  
"Go ahead." Penny urged.  
  
Phoebe hesitated, but then quickly took advantage of the situation. She grabbed up a slice and began scarfing it down while watching the television. All through supper she thought about the attic. She wanted in there! Of course, she'd always wanted in there, but this was different. Now she felt like she was old enough, and deserved to go in there! She wanted to know what the big secret was. i Tonight,/i She thought.i While everyone else is sleeping, that's when I'll get into the attic./i She sighed, and took another bite of her pizza. iTonight./i  
  
  
  
bPiper's Job/b  
  
After they ate their pizza Penny requested to see Piper in the kitchen. Piper was puzzled, but she followed her grandmother into the kitchen as she was asked to do. When she entered the kitchen Penny pointed at a chair and asked her to have a seat. Piper sat down and watched as Penny slowly walked around the kitchen, finally ending up in a chair across from Piper.  
  
"Piper, I'm going to ask a favor of you." Penny said.  
  
"What is it, Grams?"  
  
"I need you to try and get that doll from Phoebe."  
  
Piper's eyes widened. She couldn't believe what her grandmother was asking her to do. "But Mom gave her that doll." Piper said, as if she thought reminding Penny would change her mind.  
  
"I know, but she is far too old to be dragging a little stuffed girl around with her everywhere." Penny said sternly, looking into Piper's eyes.  
  
Piper took a deep breath and looked down, shaking her head. "I can't do it, Grams. I can't take away the only thing she has left of Mom." Piper looked up to meet her grandmother's eyes. "I can't hurt my sister like that."  
  
Inside, Penny was more than pleased with Piper's answer, although she really needed to do something about a ten-year-old taking a doll everywhere. "You don't have to take it away, just talk to her about taking it everywhere. Talk her into leaving it at home. This of this as a job, you have to do it because the boss told you to."  
  
"It's not like she takes it to school." Piper muttered under her breath.  
  
"No, but taking it out to restaurants and sitting it in her lap as she eats is bad enough." Penny countered.  
  
"She feels like Mom is with her when she holds that doll, though." Piper said, staring into the intense face of her guardian. Piper finally sighed and slouched over. "Fine, I'll talk to her."  
  
"Thank you, dear." Penny came over and kissed her on the head and then walked out of the kitchen, leaving Piper to stare at the tabletop.  
  
"This is so not fair." Piper muttered. She sighed and pushed her chair away from the table and went up the stairs. She stopped in the hallway and knocked on her sister's door. "Phoebe?"  
  
"Who is it?" Phoebe asked.  
  
"The tooth fairy!" Piper remarked sarcastically. "Who do you think?"  
  
Phoebe cracked the door open and looked at her sister. "Sorry. What do you want?"  
  
"Can I come in?" Piper asked, watching her sister's expressions. "Wait a minute, what did you do?"  
  
"What do you mean?" Phoebe asked. "I haven't done anything."  
  
"Yet." Piper added. "What are you planning?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Don't give me that, Pheebs, I can tell when you're planning something." Piper told her.  
  
"Okay, hurry and come in." Phoebe grabbed Piper's arm and yanked her inside, slamming the door after her. "What do you want?"  
  
"What are you planning?" Piper asked.  
  
"You tell me what I want to know, and I'll tell you what you want to know." Phoebe bargained.  
  
"Fine, I'm here to talk to you about your doll." Piper pointed at the doll, sitting on Phoebe's bed.  
  
Phoebe turned concerned eyes on her doll, and then on Piper. "What about her?"  
  
"Grams says she doesn't want you to take her everywhere." Piper said. "She says you can keep her, but you can't take her out to eat with us anymore. You're too old."  
  
"But…Mom gave her to me." Phoebe said softly, looking at the old, worn doll.  
  
"I know, but Phoebe, just because you leave a doll behind, doesn't mean you're leaving Mom behind. She goes everywhere with you, whether or not you want her to. She'll always be right here…" Piper tapped Phoebe on the chest where her heart would be. "Always."  
  
Phoebe sighed deeply and sat down on her bed, pulling the doll into her lap. "I guess you're right. I guess it's time for me to leave her at home from now on." Phoebe suddenly looked away from the doll and up at Piper with worrisome eyes. "How many years have I got till she's not allowed to sit on my bed?"  
  
"Don't worry, Pheebs, you're never too old for that." Piper smiled and hugged her sister. "Now, it's bed time. Go to sleep, we've got school tomorrow."  
  
Piper got up to go to her room and bumped into Prue, who was coming down the hall. Prue poked her head into Phoebe's room. "Night, Phoebe."  
  
"Night, Prue." Phoebe muttered.  
  
Prue and Piper went to their rooms and got into their beds. Phoebe did the same. Penny came by their rooms and wished them all a good night. All the while, Phoebe lay in her be, forming plans in her head.  
  
  
  
b Prue's Discovery /b  
  
For hours, Phoebe lay awake in her bed. She was listening and waiting. She would sigh every now and again. The silence was driving her insane. Finally, she heard what she'd been waiting on. Penny was walking down the hall to her room. Phoebe heard her grandmother's door open and close. She waited almost an hour more before jumping out of bed. She crept to the door, dragging the doll with her. She paused in the doorway.  
  
"Piper says I have to learn not to take you everywhere." She whispered. She kissed the doll on the head and ran back, setting her on the bed. "I'll be back." She whispered.  
  
Phoebe snuck down the hall, and finally up the attic stairway. She got to the attic door and noticed that she was shaking. She sighed and told herself nothing was wrong. She bent down in front of the keyhole and once again inserted her hairpins the way she had earlier in the day.  
  
She struggled and struggled with the lock until she heard a click. She stood back looking at the door. She was half shocked that she had actually picked the lock. She slowly opened the door and walked inside. It looked like a normal attic. No big deal. She walked around, passing boxes, and other chairs, until she accidentally knocked and old photo album to the floor. She froze, hoping it wouldn't wake her grandmother. She waited, crouched down behind a box.  
  
Piper was having trouble sleeping. It had to be the pizza. They say you should never have pizza before bed. She was half asleep and half awake when she heard the noise. She rolled over on her back and looked up, listening. She didn't hear anything again, but she was convinced she had heard something. She slowly crawled out of bed and crept to Prue's room and shook her sister awake.  
  
"Prue?" Piper hissed into the darkness.  
  
"Mm?" Came the moaning reply.  
  
"I heard something." Piper whispered.  
  
"Something being…? What?"  
  
"I don't know what." Piper said. "Will you come with me?"  
  
Prue sat up and looked at Piper. "For what? Where are you going?"  
  
"I want to go see what it was." Piper answered. "It came from up there." Piper pointed up where the attic was.  
  
"The attic?" Prue asked, feeling more awake.  
  
Piper nodded.  
  
"You think something's in there?" Prue asked.  
  
Again, Piper nodded.  
  
"Nothing could be."  
  
"Please, Prue?" The twelve year old begged.  
  
"Fine." Prue kicked back the covers and crawled out of bed.  
  
She took Piper by the hand and they quietly made their way up the stairs to the attic door.  
  
"Look!" Piper hardly whispered.  
  
The door was open.  
  
"I see."  
  
Prue glanced at Piper, and then at the door. Prue didn't know if she should run down and get Penny or go ahead and see what it was. She'd always been curious as to what Penny hid in there, but if it were a burglar or something to that effect she didn't want to be seen.  
  
Prue didn't have time to make a decision. Piper poked her head in and took a few steps forward, dragging Prue with her. To their amazement, their little sister was sitting on a box looking at pictures. She heard a floorboard creak and looked up to see Prue and Piper. Phoebe grinned triumphantly.  
  
"Phoebe…?" Prue's tone was obviously one of disappointment.  
  
"Phoebe…?" Whereas, Piper's tone was full of wonder.  
  
Phoebe held out her hairpins. "I picked the lock."  
  
"iYou/I picked the lock?" Prue asked. "I didn't know you could pick locks!"  
  
  
  
bCuriosity Killed the Cat… /b  
  
  
  
"Please don't be mad, Prue." Phoebe said sweetly.  
  
Prue was about to tell Phoebe just how mad she was, but curiosity got the better of her as she saw something behind Phoebe that caught her eye.  
  
"What's that?" Prue asked, walking towards it.  
  
Phoebe, who had been bracing herself for a lecture, turned around. "It's some of Mom's old stuff." Phoebe explained. She'd already looked through it. "That's the box I found the album in."  
  
Phoebe set the picture album down on the chair next to her and went to Prue's side to dig through their mother's old things. Piper stood back by the doorway in hesitation.  
  
"Come on, guys, let's just go back to bed." Piper pleaded.  
  
"Don't you wanna look?" Phoebe asked.  
  
"What if we get caught?" Piper asked, glancing over her shoulder, expecting her grandmother to come marching into the room any minute, waving her arms at them.  
  
"Then we get caught, but at least we will have seen something new." Prue said. "These are things that remind us of who Mom was, Piper."  
  
"Come on, Piper. Don't you ever forget little things about her that you wish you could remember forever?" Phoebe asked. Piper looked down.  
  
"I know I do." Prue admitted. "Sometimes I just can't remember how warm her smile was." Prue sighed sadly. "I hate to forget, but the memories just blur together sometimes." Prue looked up at Piper with a sparkle dancing in her blue eyes. "Don't you wish you could just remember how she smelled, or how safe you felt in her arms?"  
  
"I do remember, Prue." Piper said quietly. "I remember all of it. I can't forget."  
  
Piper slowly made her way across the attic to her sisters' side and started going through the box with them. Phoebe soon tired of looking through that box and wanted to find more of their mother's old things. She spotted a chest across the room and went over to it. She pushed it open and looked into it. There was a black velvet blanket covering the contents. She pulled the blanket back and saw a collection of strange, yet beautiful bottles.  
  
"That's strange." Phoebe muttered to herself.  
  
"What is?" Prue asked, coming over to join her.  
  
"That's the bottom of this trunk…" Phoebe said, placing her hand on the bottom. "But it looks so much deeper on the outside."  
  
Piper came over and looked at it. "You're right." She started to turn away and stopped. "Oh! I saw this on television once."  
  
She folded the blanket into a square and laid it on the floor next to the box and started putting all the bottles on it. When the chest was empty, she felt around on the bottom. In the corner she found a hole that her index finger fit into.  
  
"Here." She muttered, giving it a pull.  
  
She fell backwards into Prue, pulling the 'bottom' out with her. Phoebe bent over the chest, and then turned and grabbed Piper's hand, pulling her back up.  
  
"Look!" Phoebe said, pointing inside.  
  
"What is it?" Piper asked.  
  
Prue leaned over and pulled an old but huge book out of its hiding place. She turned around and sat down, leaning her back against the chest. Piper and Phoebe copied her, one sitting to each side of her. She traced the symbol on the cover of the book.  
  
"What do you think it is?" Piper asked.  
  
"Well, we know it's a book." Prue said, flipping the cover back.  
  
"Hmm, this is interesting…" Phoebe said, looking over Prue's shoulder. "Listen, 'Here now the words of the witches, the secrets we hid in the night. The oldest of gods are invoked here; the great work of magic is sought. In this night and in this hour, I call upon the ancient power. Bring your powers to we sisters three, we want the power, give us the power.' Pretty weird huh?"  
  
"What is it, a book of poems?" Piper asked.  
  
"I don't have a clue." Prue said. "But it looks like an old book. Maybe even a few hundred years old."  
  
"You think it could really be that old?" Phoebe asked. "You think Grams knows about it? Maybe she didn't know that chest had a secret compartment to it."  
  
"But it's not dusty." Prue noted. "Even just sitting in that trunk it would collect dust."  
  
"Which means…that Grams must…read this book a lot?" Piper asked.  
  
Prue nodded and started flipping through the pages. Piper and Phoebe were examining the pictures on the pages as Prue skimmed over the 'poems'.  
  
"Phoebe?" They heard Penny call from downstairs.  
  
"Uh-oh…" Piper gasped. "If Grams catches us up here after we've been warned not to come up here then we're gonna get in so much trouble."  
  
"Uh…" Phoebe glanced around nervously. "Put the book back, but the bottles and blanket back and then close it! Hurry!"  
  
Prue and Piper hurried to put the trunk back the way they had found it, while Phoebe closed up the box of their mother's things.  
  
"What now?" Prue asked.  
  
"I play at the top of the stairs a lot!" Phoebe hurriedly told them. "We'll lock the door back and act like we were all playing together because we couldn't sleep."  
  
Prue and Piper agreed as they locked the attic door and sat down on the top step just as Penny appeared at the foot of the staircase.  
  
"What are you three doing out of bed?" Penny asked, glancing at them suspiciously.  
  
"We couldn't sleep." Phoebe answered, being the best at lying.  
  
"Piper?" Penny said, knowing Piper was the easiest to break.  
  
"I couldn't sleep either." Piper lied. "I went to see if Phoebe was asleep and she wasn't in her room so I came and woke up Prue cause I was worried, and then we heard Phoebe sneeze, and we found her sitting here."  
  
Prue and Phoebe glanced at each other, shocked that Piper had thought up such a believable lie in so short a time without flinching or breaking down to tell Penny the truth. Penny shook her head with a sigh.  
  
"That's great, but you three had better get back to bed this minute."  
  
The three nodded and started down the stairs. Penny escorted them to their rooms before going back to her room.  
  
  
  
  
  
b But Satisfaction Brought Him Back /b  
  
"Prudence, wake up."  
  
Prue yawned and looked up at Penny with sleepy eyes. "What is it, Grams?"  
  
"I have to go out for a while and run some errands. Can you watch your sisters for me?"  
  
Prue nodded and glanced at her clock: 9 AM on Saturday morning. "When will you be back?"  
  
"I'm not sure, but it will definitely be before dinner time." Penny kissed her on the forehead, said goodbye, and ran out the door. A few moments later Prue heard the front door slam shut, and Phoebe appeared in her doorway, rubbing her eyes.  
  
"Where's Grams going?" Phoebe asked in the middle of a yawn.  
  
"Errands or something." Prue answered.  
  
"I'm hungry." Phoebe said gently, hoping Prue wouldn't yell at her for whining.  
  
"Well, go make yourself something."  
  
"You know I'm not allowed to use the stove. Not after that last incident."  
  
"Well, Phoebe, just have cereal then."  
  
"Prue…" Phoebe whined. "I'm sick of cereal."  
  
"Alright," Prue crawled out of bed. "I'll see what I can do."  
  
As Phoebe walked out of Prue's room and into the hallway they heard the bathroom door shut. Prue glanced at Phoebe and smiled.  
  
"On second thought, since Piper's up maybe she'll make breakfast." Prue said.  
  
"After my shower!" They heard Piper call from the bathroom.  
  
"She heard you?" Phoebe asked.  
  
Prue shrugged and glanced down the hallway. Phoebe followed her gaze, which lead towards the stairs going to the attic. Without looking at her sister, Prue spoke.  
  
"Think you could pick that lock again?"  
  
Phoebe nodded excitedly. "Yeah!"  
  
Prue glanced at the bathroom door, and then she grabbed Phoebe's arm. "Let's go!"  
  
Together they ran up the stairs to the attic door. Phoebe crouched down in front of the door, inserting her hairpins again. It didn't take quite as long as it had the night before.  
  
"I'm getting good at this." Phoebe remarked as the door popped open.  
  
They both immediately made their way to the trunk that held the old book. They pulled the book out and sat down, looking through it. Pictures of demons, warlocks, and other creatures of evil and magic drew in all their attention. When Piper cleared her throat from the doorway, both girls jumped.  
  
"What are you doing now?" Piper asked.  
  
"Looking at the book." Phoebe answered.  
  
"It's called 'The Book of Shadows'." Prue told her. "It's got all kinds of nasty looking guys in it."  
  
"So what kind of book is it?" Piper asked, crossing the room to kneel next to them.  
  
"It's gotta be a spell book." Phoebe replied. "It tells you how to make potions and stuff."  
  
"You think Grams could be a witch?" Piper asked in shock.  
  
"That would be cool." Phoebe giggled.  
  
"What if she is? What if she's cast spells on us!" Piper exclaimed.  
  
"She's our grandmother, Piper. I don't think she'd do anything bad to us." Prue said, giving her sister's arm a pat.  
  
"Wanna try one?" Piper asked out of the blue.  
  
"What?" Phoebe asked, amazement evident in her voice.  
  
"A spell?" Piper asked. "Wanna try one?"  
  
"Piper?" Prue checked. "Is that you?"  
  
"Yeah, I mean, if you really think Grams does it, then maybe its okay."  
  
Prue glanced at Phoebe. "I don't know, do you wanna try one?"  
  
"Sure!" Phoebe giggled. "Which one?"  
  
"Let's try this one…" Piper pointed at a page. "What is it?"  
  
Prue leaned forward to read. "It's called a personal gain spell, whatever that means; it says to use it to grant one minor wish. Meaning, nothing really big."  
  
"Okay…what do we need?" Phoebe asked.  
  
"Candles. Two." Prue answered.  
  
"Where are we gonna get the candles?" Piper asked.  
  
Phoebe looked around and saw a box on a shelf and thought she saw a candle holder in it. She jumped up and ran over to look in the box. There was a short, fat candle, and a snowman shaped candle. She held them up in question for her sisters to see.  
  
"Sure!" Prue shrugged.  
  
They set the candles on the floor, and Phoebe ran back and grabbed some matches out of the box. Prue lit the candles and then looked at her sisters.  
  
"Who wants to read it?"  
  
Piper leaned over looking at the book. "I will."  
  
"You will?" Phoebe's eyes were wide.  
  
"Sure." Piper muttered with a shrug. "If Grams can do it, so can I."  
  
Prue and Phoebe sat still while Piper read the spell.  
  
"Now we each make a small wish for something we want." Piper explained. "Out loud."  
  
"I wish for a gold locket." Phoebe said, and then giggled.  
  
"I wish for…a leather wallet." Prue said with a shrug. Like she knew what she wanted!  
  
"I wish for um...a pair of sunglasses." Piper muttered.  
  
They heard a loud boom, and they each covered their faces with their arms. When they looked back at the candles there was a locket sitting on top of a wallet, with a pair of sunglasses lying next to them on the floor. Prue smiled and Phoebe and Piper. Piper picked up the sunglasses and looked at them.  
  
"Not bad." Then she shrugged. "Hungry?"  
  
"Yes!" Phoebe jumped up.  
  
  
  
b Does the Cat Always Land On His Feet? /b  
  
  
  
"What can we do till Grams gets home?" Phoebe asked, sitting upside down in the couch in the sitting room with her head on the floor. "I'm bored."  
  
"You're always bored, what's new?" Prue inquired.  
  
Piper marched into the room with a pair of sunglasses in the palm of her hand. "My sunglasses are shrinking! They were sitting on my desk, and I looked over and they were getting smaller." Piper held them out for Prue and Phoebe to see and the sunglasses were only four fingers wide from the edge of the left lends to the edge of the right lens. Phoebe rolled off the couch.  
  
"Those would fit my doll perfectly!" Phoebe squealed, reaching for them.  
  
Piper slapped her hand away. "No! Something is wrong with them. Where are the things you guys wished for?"  
  
"My wallet is on my bed." Prue answered.  
  
Piper turned around and ran up the stairs. Prue and Phoebe, curious as to what Piper was up to, jumped up to follow. Piper yelped just as Prue and Phoebe made it to the doorway of Prue's room.  
  
"What happened?" Prue asked.  
  
"The wallet has a mouth!" Piper screamed. "It bit me!"  
  
She stuck her hand out to reveal large red marks on her hand. Phoebe looked at the wallet and took a step backwards. Prue shook her head.  
  
"That's ridiculous my wallet coul—" Prue's objection was interrupted by a moo.  
  
Prue turned her glare on Phoebe. Phoebe held up her hands defensively. "Wasn't me!"  
  
The moo came again, and Prue looked down at the wallet. Prue grabbed the sunglasses from Piper and poke the wallet. A mouth appeared and bit the glasses, and then it mooed, spitting out the glasses.  
  
"What the hell is going on?" Prue asked.  
  
"Pheebs, where's your locket?" Piper asked.  
  
Phoebe reached into her pocket and then her face twisted in disgust. "Ew!"  
  
"What?" Her sisters questioned in unison.  
  
Phoebe pulled her hand out of her pocket, along with her hand came a handful of spaghetti. "What the…?"  
  
"That spell backfired." Piper stated. "We have to get rid of this stuff before Grams gets home."  
  
"How?" Phoebe asked.  
  
Piper stuttered and Prue cut in. "The same way we got it. We'll just un-wish for it."  
  
They went back up to the attic, Phoebe picked the lock, and they got the book out of the trunk. They opened up to the page with the spell they had used earlier. They set the spaghetti and glasses, and the vicious, mooing wallet into a bowl. They said the spell again, only in reverse, as they were instructed to do by the book. When their items vanished Piper sighed in relief.  
  
"Wanna try a different one?" Phoebe inquired ever so quietly.  
  
"No!" Piper blurted. "This one backfired as it was, let's not get in deeper than we are."  
  
"But we could try a different kind…like this… 'Time and place, where in space, a perfect glimpse, of what's beyond.' Let's do that one." Phoebe said.  
  
"Phoebe!" Prue snapped. "Don't read out loud!"  
  
Piper stood up and pulled Prue to her feet, and as Phoebe was putting the book back in the trunk there was a bright flash and each sister was thrown across the attic. Prue moaned and climbed to her feet.  
  
"Phoebe? Piper?" She called out, not seeing her sisters.  
  
"Prue?" It was Phoebe's voice first.  
  
Piper groaned and rolled onto her back, and then groaned again. Finally, she climbed to her feet. Rubbing her head, she crawled over a pile of boxes she'd landed in. She turned around to see a fireball zooming for her face. Piper screamed and braced herself for the impact.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
Piper opened one eye and saw the fire frozen before her face. She took a deep breath and promptly slipped out of the fireball's general course. She sighed, intending to find her sisters she turned around; instead she turned and found a demon. One just like in the pictures in the book, Piper screamed. He wasn't moving.  
  
"Piper?" Prue and Phoebe called from opposite ends of the attic.  
  
They all three ran into the center of the attic and stopped dead in their tracks the moment they saw one another. Phoebe's eyes grew to three times their size, Prue's jaw dropped, and Piper brought her hands up to cover her gaping mouth.  
  
"Prue?" Piper questioned. Prue nodded. "Phoebe?" Piper asked again. Phoebe nodded.  
  
They stood staring at one another for a good couple of minutes, until finally Phoebe broke the silence.  
  
"Will I be as gorgeous as you two when I'm this old?" Phoebe asked. "Cause you two are beautiful!"  
  
Prue immediately slapped Phoebe across the arm. "That's what you get for reading out loud from a strange book of MAGIC!"  
  
"I didn't know it would do this!" Phoebe said, indicating their grown- up bodies.  
  
"What do we do about him?" Piper asked pointing at the demon.  
  
Prue started to walk towards Piper, and Piper stepped back.  
  
"What? You think I'm going to bite you?" Prue asked.  
  
"No, but you look…so different." Piper answered.  
  
"Trust me, so do you." Prue replied with a hint of frustration in her voice. She turned back to the demon. "Well, I say we run from him…"  
  
"Why did you have to read that stupid spell?" Piper asked through clenched teeth.  
  
"I was curious!" Phoebe hissed back.  
  
"Well, that's just great! Didn't you ever hear the expression 'Curiosity killed the cat'?"  
  
"Yeah, but I didn't picture myself as a cat, and I sure as hell didn't think curiosity would take the form of a 7 foot tall man with black horns and green skin!" Phoebe shot back, sarcasm dripping from each word.  
  
"Um…" Prue waved her arms to get their attention. "Hi! Why are we still in the same room as the demon?" Prue didn't wait for their answers. She grabbed their hands and yanked them downstairs.  
  
  
  
  
  
b 'Fraidy Cat /b  
  
  
  
"This is just great!" Piper said, sitting next to Prue in a Jeep.  
  
In their escape, Prue had shoved them into the car parked outside and drove them to the park. Piper had found a purse in the Jeep, she soon found out it belonged to her. She had gone through it and was now looking at her driver's license.  
  
"Just great! I'm a twelve year old in the body of a twenty six year old!" She held out the license for Prue to see, but yanked it back before she could actually see anything. "See that? That's twenty-six years old!"  
  
"Piper, calm down."  
  
"No! Prue! I will not calm down! Phoebe has launched me fourteen years into my future! I don't even really know how she did it! I didn't think it was even possible, but here I am, there you are, and look at Phoebe! We're not ourselves anymore…we're our…later selves… and I don't like it one bit! How are we supposed to even get back?" Piper said very fast. "And you're driving without a license!"  
  
"Not true!" Prue said, pulling a wallet out of her pocket. "See?" She held up a license.  
  
"That's not yours!" Piper reminded her. "You're only fourteen! You don't eve have a permit!"  
  
"Well, that's strange...Phoebe, what's that say right there?"  
  
"It says Prudence Halliwell." Phoebe read the license.  
  
"Well, Piper, it has my name on it, so it must belong to me."  
  
"PRUE! You're being crazy! You don't even know how to drive!"  
  
"I got us here, didn't I?" Prue crossed her arms over her chest, looking very stubborn.  
  
"Barely," Piper muttered. She gave up and slumped back against the chair with a sigh. "So what do we do? There's a Halloween monster on the loose, looking for us, and we don't know how to get rid of it."  
  
"Piper, we'll be okay." Prue said in a motherly manner.  
  
"Prue, I'm scared." Piper whispered, looking down at her purse.  
  
Phoebe leaned forward from the backseat and put a comforting hand on Piper's shoulder. Prue gave Piper's knee a pat. Phoebe decided to ease the tension.  
  
"Look in the mirror and you'll be amazed." Phoebe said with a giggle.  
  
Piper pulled the sun visor down and looked in the mirror. Her jaw dropped slightly as her hand came up to her cheek. "I didn't know I'd look like this."  
  
Prue looked in the rear view mirror. "I don't think any of us thought we'd look like we do."  
  
"I did." Phoebe smiled. "I knew we'd all be stunning one day."  
  
"What if we can't get back to our own time, and our little bodies?" Piper suddenly asked, starting to panic.  
  
"We will. We'll get back to the book and find a way." Prue reassured her.  
  
"What if the book is gone?" Piper asked, nearly shaking with panic.  
  
"I saw it on a podium." Phoebe informed her. "It's still there."  
  
They sat in silence for a few moments, suddenly the backseat next to Phoebe started glowing blue. Phoebe was screaming as a man was forming. She backed up against the door and was trying to get out, but failing. Phoebe's screaming got louder, and she started to attempt to kick whatever was appearing.  
  
"Phoebe! Calm down!" He begged after materializing, holding his hands up for protection.  
  
"How do you know my name?" She asked slowly.  
  
"I'm your whitelighter." He said, as if she should know.  
  
"My what?"  
  
"Very funny, Phoebe," He laughed.  
  
He leaned up between the seats and leaned towards Piper. She leaned away as he tried to give her a kiss on the cheek. He pulled away and looked puzzled.  
  
"What's going on?" He asked. "Piper?" She didn't answer so he turned to Prue. "Prue? What's wrong with you guys?" No response. "It's me…Leo? Leo Wyatt? Piper's husband?"  
  
"What?" Piper asked whirling around in her seat. "My husband?" Disbelief played across her features as plain as day itself. "Wow, do I get lucky…"  
  
"This can't be good." Leo muttered to himself.  
  
  
  
  
  
b Eight Lives Left /b  
  
"So, that's about everything." Leo finished his explanation. "And you say you're still teenagers?"  
  
"Prue's the only teenager; Piper and I have one or three years to go." Phoebe answered.  
  
"But you're not twenty four?" He asked her.  
  
"Nope. Ten." Phoebe held up both her hands, wiggling ten fingers.  
  
Piper opened the car door and started to get out, but Prue caught her arm. "Where are you going?"  
  
"I can't sit in this Jeep any more. I've gotta get out a move around." Piper replied, shrugging off Prue's hand.  
  
Prue scrambled to get out of the Jeep too, and Phoebe watched Leo do the same, so she also crawled out. Leo ran over, putting a hand on Piper's shoulder.  
  
"If you're only twelve you can't walk around in a twenty six year old body, in a time that you don't know anything about."  
  
"What's there to know?"  
  
"Who's the president?"  
  
"Hah!" Piper scoffed. "I didn't know that when I was in my own time."  
  
"Right, but you were only twelve, here you're an adult, and you're expected to know these things."  
  
"Then tell me." Piper folded her arms across her chest, staring up at him.  
  
"Piper…"  
  
"What?" She turned to Prue.  
  
"I think I want to go back now." Prue sighed.  
  
Phoebe was leaning against the Jeep quietly, watching the other three have a talk. Suddenly, the demon that was in their attic blinked behind them, causing Phoebe to scream at them. Instead of looking behind them where the demon was, they looked at her to see why she was screaming. The demon flung two fireballs at them, and then disappeared in a cackling laugh as the fireballs struck their destination.  
  
Phoebe ran over to her sisters' bodies, with tears forming in her eyes. Prue and Piper were lying on the ground, Leo leaning over them. When she knelt down beside Leo, she saw a golden light emitting from his hand. She quickly looked up to make sure no one had seen. The park was absolutely deserted.  
  
"What are you doing to them?" She asked in a panic.  
  
"Healing." Leo answered. "They'll be fine."  
  
Phoebe sighed, and took Piper's hand up in her own. "So much for curiosity killing the cat."  
  
"What?" Leo cocked his head to look at her.  
  
"Nothing, Piper just said something earlier about curiosity killing the cat, and I replied by telling her I didn't know I would be a cat and that guy would symbolize curiosity." Phoebe noticed his puzzled look. "He got her and Prue, and I was supposed to represent the cat…" Leo looked back down at what he was doing. "You get it, don't you?"  
  
"Sure, um…You need to vanquish him we can get you back to your own time." Leo told her.  
  
"Well, if we knew how to do that we'd have done it by now." Phoebe rolled her eyes at him. He started to say something but she cut him off. "Just heal them. You can tell it to Prue or Piper."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Prudence? Piper? Phoebe?" Penny called from the front door.  
  
She turned around to pull her key from the door, and then called out again. She closed the door and set the grocery bag in her arms on the floor. She walked towards the stairs and called up them. Still she got no response. She started up the stairs thinking they probably fell asleep. Their rooms were empty. She knew Phoebe had been dying to see what was in the attic, and she mentally kicked herself for leaving, giving Phoebe the perfect chance to get in there. She guessed Prue and Piper were probably just as curious as their sister. She entered the attic and found Prue, Piper, and Phoebe asleep in the middle of the attic, with the book of shadows before them.  
  
"Oh, no." Penny muttered as she woke them up, praying they hadn't done anything serious with the book. She was really hoping they hadn't read the first page. As long as they had not read it, they would still be powerless.  
  
"Prudence, wake up." Penny shook her until she was opening her eyes. Then she moved on to Piper and Phoebe. In moments, all three of her granddaughters were opening their eyes.  
  
Penny was leaning over Piper when she opened her eyes. Piper screamed and accidentally kicked Penny's legs out from under her. Penny fell to her rear with wide eyes.  
  
"What is the matter with you?" Penny asked, trying to get to her feet. She looked over at Prue and Phoebe and they were gaping at her. "What?"  
  
"Grams?" Piper tested her voice. "Is that…you?"  
  
"Well, of course it is!"  
  
"Well, sure, but you're not glowing like usual…" Phoebe started and then stopped when she glanced over and saw Prue and Piper.  
  
Piper looked over at Phoebe when she started talking. "Oh. My. God."  
  
"Would one of you please tell me what's gotten into you?" Penny asked. No one answered so she turned to Prue. "Prudence?"  
  
"Uh," Prue climbed to her feet. "Well, for starters I'm not supposed to be a kid."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"Grams, we have a problem." Phoebe cut in.  
  
"What kind of problem?"  
  
"Well, it seems like we've come back in time." Piper said. "That would be my guess anyway."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"You may want to sit down for this." Phoebe said softly.  
  
Penny found a chair and sat down, looking at her granddaughters expectantly. "Well, on with it."  
  
Prue glanced at her sisters, and Piper stepped forward. She knelt down and took Penny's hand up in her own. "Grams, where we come from…I mean our time, you're…" She paused and looked up at Prue and Phoebe. She sighed and looked into Penny's eyes. "You're no longer living."  
  
"Things are very different." Prue jumped in, kneeling next to her sister. "Piper's been married, and Phoebe and I get along like you always wanted."  
  
"You're saying that you're not my fourteen year old Prue?"  
  
"No, I'm twenty eight." Prue answered.  
  
"Oh, this can't be good." Phoebe said suddenly dreadfully. "If we traded places with ourselves; that means that they're battling a demon right now."  
  
"What?" Penny screeched. "They don't even know they have powers!"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
b Here Kitty Kitty Kitty…/b  
  
  
  
"Why do I have to be the bait?" Phoebe whined yet again.  
  
"We've gone over this, Phoebe." Leo sighed. "You're the one with the passive power, besides your…body is a little stronger than your sister's. The 'you' that is supposed to be in that body works out a lot to make up for not having an active power."  
  
"Fine." Phoebe uttered.  
  
"Good, now can we please try and lure the demon?" Prue asked impatiently.  
  
"What was the plan?" Piper looked to Leo for answers.  
  
"Well, we're going to take Phoebe to an area near where this demon has been hiding out." Leo answered. "The Elders have given me that location, and after you've vanquished the demon they want you to get back to your time and your bodies."  
  
"Are they mad?"  
  
"Piper, you weren't supposed to discover that book until just a few years ago, after you were adults. You weren't supposed to receive your powers at this young age. Destiny worked everything out when you were younger; it took away your powers until you were ready." Leo explained. "Something went wrong, allowing you to call your powers to you before the right time. When you go back you'll have them taken away and things will be the way they were before you got them. You'll live out your childhood like you should have, and Phoebe will release your powers when you're older."  
  
"What if we don't want to go back?" Piper asked.  
  
"It doesn't matter if you want to or not." Leo stated. "You can either cast the spell after you've vanquished the demon, or you can wait for your 'other' selves to cast it. They will do it, whether you want them to or not. They belong here. You still have to grow up, Piper."  
  
"Let's just get on with it then."  
  
"Get in the Jeep, then." Leo waved his hand at them. "And I'm driving!"  
  
  
  
  
  
"There's nothing in there?" Piper asked.  
  
"No!" Prue slammed the book closed. "I don't know how they did it without a spell."  
  
"Maybe it was all Phoebe's fault." Piper joked. "She's always making up spells."  
  
"Hey! Don't put the blame off on me!" Phoebe pointed a finger in their faces. "It could have been either of you just as easily."  
  
"Do you remember what we were like when you gave us our powers?" Prue asked. "We weren't thrilled in the least, what makes you think we would want to try out a few spells?"  
  
"You were more adventurous back then, you weren't grown up." Phoebe explained. "You still had a childlike imagination where magic was wonder."  
  
"Okay, maybe, but if we don't help ourselves, we won't have bodies to go back to." Piper reminded them. "So somehow we have to find a spell that will work."  
  
"Why don't you just let Phoebe write one?" Prue suggested.  
  
"You think she could?" Piper asked.  
  
"Why not? She's done it before."  
  
"Please, stop talking about me in third person. I'm right here; ask me if I can." Phoebe butted in.  
  
"Fine, Phoebe, can you write a spell to switch us back?" Prue asked.  
  
"I don't know, but I do know I can write a spell to bring them here so they can show us what they did and then we can have them reverse it, once we're back in the right bodies I can write a spell to send us back to our time." Phoebe said. "I know I can do that. But switching bodies through different time periods….I don't know if I can pull that off."  
  
"Phoebe, a ten year old Phoebe pulled it off!" Piper reminded her.  
  
"You don't know that it was my fault for sure."  
  
"Sisters!" Prue interrupted them. "Okay, we'll find out who was to blame soon enough, for now, Phoebe, go get that spell started. I'm so not used to this body anymore."  
  
"I feel so much shorter." Piper commented.  
  
"You are." Prue laughed.  
  
"Girls! Lunch is ready!" Penny called from downstairs.  
  
Prue, Piper, and Phoebe ran out of the attic giggling.  
  
"Great! I'm starved!" Phoebe shouted.  
  
  
  
  
  
b Cat Got Your Tongue? /b  
  
  
  
"Now, just stay in the car until I come back. Okay?" Leo waited for each girl to nod her head. "This won't take long, I'll orb up and orb right back down."  
  
"Okay, just go and get it done with." Prue pushed.  
  
Leo nodded and orbed away in a flurry of blue lights.  
  
"That is so cool." Phoebe laughed.  
  
"I don't really want to wait here." Prue said. "Why don't we get out and stay next to the car? That way we can at least stretch our legs. We've been sitting here forever."  
  
"Sounds good to me." Piper agreed, getting out of the Jeep.  
  
Prue and Piper walked around front and leaned on the hood of the car. Phoebe fell out of the Jeep onto her bum and grunted. Prue cocked her head and looked at her sideways.  
  
"This body is too big for me!" Phoebe whined. "I don't know how to work it yet."  
  
Piper walked around to help her up. "Be careful. You don't wanna make yourself made that you messed your body up." Piper raised her eyebrow and looked at Prue. "Did that make any sense?"  
  
Prue shrugged. "I wonder how long he'll be up there."  
  
"Who knows?" Phoebe muttered as she joined Prue.  
  
Piper was going back to her spot next to Prue when she saw a puppy. He was whining because he was trapped in a net and couldn't get out. Piper glanced at her sisters, and then she trotted across the docks to the net.  
  
"Isn't that right, Piper?"  
  
Prue and Phoebe spun around when their sister didn't answer. They looked around for her, but didn't see her anywhere. Prue glanced at Phoebe worried.  
  
"Nice puppy…stay calm…" Piper reached forward and began untangling him from the net. He sat still as she worked. Once she had freed him, the puppy licked her hand and ran off.  
  
"Be careful now!" She called after it. She turned to start heading back to the Jeep and heard her sisters calling for her. "I'm over here!" She answered.  
  
Prue and Phoebe turned in her direction in time to see her being smacked over the back of the head by the demon. Prue did what Leo had been training her to do, and used her power to fling the demon off the dock into the water. Phoebe and Prue ran to the edge and looked over. The demon was gone. They hurried back to Piper's side. The knelt down next to her, and both took up a hand in their own.  
  
"Piper?" Prue asked, gently tapping her sister's face with her free hand.  
  
"Prue, is she okay?"  
  
"How should I know?" Prue reached up and felt for a pulse. "She has a normal pulse so she's not dead. Piper? Can you hear me?"  
  
"Piper, answer us!" Phoebe chimed in.  
  
"Piper? Please?" Prue pleaded. She glanced up at Phoebe and muttered, "Oh, my other me is going to kill me for this!"  
  
"You got that right!" Phoebe uttered an agreement. "That is if Leo doesn't first. We were supposed to stay in the Jeep."  
  
"And it was my idea to get out!" Prue groaned. "Phoebe! Do something!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Make her say something to let us know she's okay."  
  
"Piper, sis, please say something." Phoebe said softly.  
  
Prue sighed. "She's not saying anything. Do something else."  
  
"You're older, you do something!"  
  
"Phoebe, I don't know what to do."  
  
"Well, neither do I, Prue!"  
  
They stopped arguing and sat in silence for a moment watching one another. Finally, they both nodded, agreeing on something that didn't need to be asked out loud. They both looked up and screamed for Leo. He had told them that if anything were to go wrong that, that was the way to get a hold of him.  
  
Leo quickly orbed into the Jeep, jumped out and ran over. He looked down at his family and shook his head. "What happened?" He asked as he knelt down next to Piper.  
  
"That demon guy hit her over the head." Phoebe said quietly.  
  
"Well, that must have happened after you got out of the Jeep even after I told you to stay in it." Leo's hands started to glow around Piper's temples as he healed his wife's body, and the twelve year old that occupied it.  
  
"Yeah, we're sorry." Prue muttered, feeling ashamed.  
  
"It is fine this time, but next time I tell you to do something, you should do it." Leo waved a finger at them as Piper's eyes started to flutter open. "I don't tell you what to do to be mean, I tell you what to do to keep you safe."  
  
"Yes, sir." Prue and Phoebe muttered in unison, both keeping their eyes adverted.  
  
"Let's get back to the Manor." Leo sighed. "The plan won't work now that he knows we were going to try it here. He'll be expecting a trap now. Get to the car." He told the three of them, helping Piper to her feet.  
  
"Yes, sir." Prue and Phoebe muttered together again. They were holding hands, they grabbed Piper's hand and the three crawled into the backseat together, each with their faces cast downward, sitting closely the whole ride back to the Manor.  
  
  
  
  
  
b Look What The Cat Dragged In /b  
  
"I never imagined my twelve year old granddaughter would prepare me a feast." Penny mused.  
  
"Well, it's the least I can do for the way we all acted, or…should I say act?"  
  
"Don't get into the mechanics of it, Piper. You'll only confuse yourself further." Prue laughed.  
  
"Right." Piper nodded and set a plate down in front of Penny. "So, Prue, is Phoebe getting close to finishing that spell?"  
  
"I hope so. Last time I checked she was trying to come up with an ending." Prue told her. "I just can't wait to get back into my own body. I hate to think what I, at fourteen, would do to it."  
  
"Just think of all the ice cream…" Piper teased. "All the sweets, I'm sure you'll be at least an extra ten pounds heavier."  
  
"Not funny!" Prue snapped playfully. "And as I recall didn't you eat more junk food than me?"  
  
"Piper?" Penny asked. "You've got to be kidding, Prudence. Piper is and has been for the past two years a health food fanatic. Phoebe is the junky."  
  
"Junky?" Piper cocked her head sideways and grinned at her grandmother.  
  
"Phoebe's got me saying it." Penny explained.  
  
"I've got you saying what?" Phoebe asked, coming into the room.  
  
"Junky."  
  
"Who's junky?"  
  
"Don't worry about it, Pheebs." Prue sighed. "How's the spell coming?"  
  
Phoebe rubbed her temple. "I finished. I just hope it will work now."  
  
"This shall be interesting to see."  
  
"What will?" Phoebe asked Penny. "Seeing if the spell works, or seeing what we look like fourteen years from now?"  
  
Penny didn't answer, she just smiled. Piper grabbed Prue by the arm, and dragged her towards Phoebe.  
  
"Let's get this over with." Piper urged. "I can't stand being this little."  
  
"Well, you're not much bigger in your other body." Phoebe teased.  
  
"Oh, like you've got room to talk." Prue giggled.  
  
"Girls?"  
  
They all three turned to look at Penny. "My inexperienced young granddaughters are in your time period trying to fight something they've never heard of…could we move this along?"  
  
"Yes, ma'am." Phoebe nodded.  
  
They recited the spell and waited on something to happen. The sisters exchanged glances with one another and with Penny, before Phoebe broke the silence.  
  
"Damn!"  
  
"Phoebe Halliwell!" Penny reprimanded quickly.  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"Why didn't it work?" Prue wondered aloud.  
  
"I don't know, Prue." Phoebe answered harshly. "How should I know?"  
  
"Take it easy there, Pheebs. She's not blaming you." Piper said, crossing the room.  
  
The four let silence fill the room once more. Piper was fussing with something on the stove. Prue and Phoebe were trying to figure out why the spell hadn't worked, and Penny was lingering over their shoulders.  
  
Breaking the silence was a loud cry from upstairs. Piper glanced at Prue, and then they both saw Phoebe disappearing through the kitchen door. Piper and Prue chased after her, and Penny got up to follow as well.  
  
When Piper and Prue caught up with Phoebe, Phoebe was standing at the attic door looking in. In the center of the room, were three grown women, screaming at the top of their lungs for a man named Leo. Penny was confused when she heard them from the hallway.  
  
The three in the center of the attic turned and saw themselves as little people. The Adult Piper saw her real body and screamed in joy.  
  
"My body!" She squealed and ran over to Piper, hugging her body.  
  
"Hurry up and say the spell!" Penny prompted. "I don't like this confusion!"  
  
The Phoebe in the ten year old body grabbed her sisters and started reciting a spell. There was a flurry of white and gold and blue lights passing between the two sets of bodies. When Piper opened her eyes again, she was face to face with an ugly green skin and a set of purple eyes. Piper quickly threw up her hands and froze the demon.  
  
"Prue? Phoebe?" She called out. They didn't reply, and she sighed. "What time period are they in now?" She glanced at the demon. "I guess I could try blowing your ugly ass up."  
  
She threw her hands up once more and the demon unfroze. He staggered backwards and screamed. His hands went up to his eyes and when he let them fall to his sides again, there was a black light shooting out of his eyes. He screamed once more and busted into little bitty pieces.  
  
"Prue, Phoebe? Where are you?"  
  
Piper heard a moan come from the side of the room. Piper ran towards the sound, and found Phoebe under a pile of books. She pulled Phoebe to her feet.  
  
"Are you okay?"  
  
"I must've gotten myself in the demon's way." Phoebe muttered.  
  
"Do you know where Prue might be?"  
  
"I'm right here."  
  
Piper and Phoebe turned around to see Prue coming towards them, rubbing her lower back. "I must have been more daring or stupid when I was fourteen. You'd think I'd stay out of a monster's way."  
  
"You'd think." Phoebe giggled.  
  
"Let's go downstairs and rest with some tea." Piper suggested, linking arms with both of her sisters and leading them downstairs.  
  
  
  
"Phoebe, stop it!" Prue screamed.  
  
"It's mine! Give it!"  
  
"No! I had it first!"  
  
"I don't care!"  
  
"Would you two please shut up?" Piper jumped between the fighting sisters. "I'm trying to do my homework here. Why don't you play with the stupid thing for ten more minutes, and then give it back to Phoebe?"  
  
Prue glanced at Phoebe, and Phoebe was watching Piper.  
  
"Will that work?"  
  
"Ten more?" Phoebe confirmed.  
  
"Ten. And then you get it back." Piper agreed. "Deal?"  
  
"Deal." Prue and Phoebe muttered in unison as Piper went back to work on her homework.  
  
Penny smiled from the doorway. "It's good to know things are back to normal. It's all going to work out in the end." She whispered to herself and turned down the hall, towards the attic to see about getting a better lock put on the door. 


End file.
